Wanted: New Friends Part Deux

It's happening.  It really is happening and it's scaring the crap out of me.  I don't know why, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but you know how they say that people retard their own success because they're actually afraid of succeeding?  I pray I'm not one of them.

If you haven't read "Wanted: New Friends" yet, you need to read it in order for the rest of my post to make any sense.

While I'm scared, I'm also super excited.  Super Dad and I have thought about a name for the group (which seems to be heading more into an organisation), and we've decided on PACE.  A couple of reasons.  Super Dad thought the acronym suits "Parents of Autistic Children Everywhere," which is awesome.

I thought in literal terms, you know, something I always say to Dayton:  "Pace yourself babe."  It's also something that we as parents need to do ourselves, pace ourselves.  Our lives are hectically chaotic, and we need to understand that as parents of kids on the autism spectrum, WE ARE SUPER PARENTS already.  Pacing ourselves would make us even more awesome.  Getting all flustered never helped anyone.  I know for myself even in the pharmacy, when things start to feel out of control because I'm so busy, I literally need to stop in my tracks, tell myself to slow down and "pace" myself.  Things then settle down for me, and I'm able to keep the pharmacy flow going at a good pace.  No pun intended.

I've met a few great people in our coffee addict get togethers with other PACE (parents of autistic children everywhere) if you prefer Super Dad's view of PACE.  One of them is a fantastic freelance photographer, who prides himself on having patience and the ability to take fantastic portraits of children on the autism spectrum.  Of course, Tony has patience and the ability to take great portraits of kids on the spectrum as he is a father of two, of which both are on the spectrum.  Takes an autism dad to have these awesome qualities.  Not only that, but Tony has volunteered his help in the promotion of PACE, especially the part of PACE where my idea is to rent a gym for our kids to meet in a non judgemental place, a place where they can feel accepted for being who they are and how they think.

Our friend Marni Wachs Zuke, the creator of Autism Winnipeg Facebook Page says our PACE acronym stands for:  Parents/Autism/Coffee/Escaping.

No matter how Super Dad and I look at it, we like the acronym PACE and I think we're just gonna go for it.

And so it's done.  I purchased the domain two days ago, and finally finished the content of the website.  You can find it at www.pacewithasd.com.  Those of you that live in Winnipeg really need to check the website out, as this is where we'll post all of our get togethers.  Right now we're just getting together for "coffee breaks," but soon I hope to get the gymboree for the kidlets ready...  Just takes time, but bear with me, it WILL happen.  I've already got some volunteers lined up, it's just a matter of time.

Hope you've all had a great winter holiday with the kids and are looking forward to sending them back to school today.

If you're looking for family portraits or any other photographer work requiring special attention to detail and a slick, professional look or patience, check out Tony's website at AnthonyMarkPhotography.net, or call Tony at 204-233-0598, or email:  plaiditude@gmail.com



Consider yourselves hugged,

Lou